Pathology/Lab Coding Alert

Question: A physician ordered a urinalysis with a reflex to urine culture for findings of hematuria. How should we code this? Ohio Subscriber Answer: The correct coding depends on the lab methods, so your question could have many correct answers. Let's run down the possibilities: For the initial urinalysis, select from the following codes based on lab method: 81000 -- Urinalysis, by dipstick or tablet reagent for bilirubin, glucose, hemoglobin, ketones, leukocytes, nitrite, pH, protein, specific gravity, urobilinogen, any number of these constituents; non- automated, with microscopy 81001 -- ... automated, with microscopy 81002 -- ... non-automated, without microscopy 81003 -- ... automated, without microscopy 81005 -- ... Urinalysis; qualitative or semiquantitative, except immunoassays 81007 -- ... bacteriuria screen, except by culture or dipstick 81015 -- ... microscopic only. If the urinalysis shows blood in the urine, you'll need to select the proper ICD-9 code to establish medical necessity for the ensuing urine culture. You'll either report [...]